MYOB Business Monitor reveals Australian businesses looking to employ more full-time staff as confidence continues to grow

24 Jun 2018

MYOB’s latest Business Monitor survey of more than 1000 SMEs has
highlighted continued growth and confidence going into the new
financial year. The research shows strong signals that business will
continue to improve over the coming year with positive growth
indicators including new jobs, wage growth and sales in the pipeline
representing continued optimism and confidence.

Employing
more full time staff and paying higher wages

Australian businesses are looking to employ more full time staff and
pay their staff more, according to the latest MYOB Business Monitor
survey of more than 1,000 business operators around the country.

Employment growth is on the horizon for SMEs, with 15 percent of
businesses planning to increase the number of full-time staff in their
business. This figure has increased from 11 per cent in the same
Business Monitor survey of November 2017.

Just under a quarter (23%) of operators surveyed revealed they
intend to increase wages and salaries paid to employees in the next 12
months. Pay increases are most likely in the manufacturing and
wholesale industry (31%) and the retail and hospitality trade (29%).

Two in five operators (41%) expected their revenue to remain the
same over the next 12 months, with a further 33 percent expecting
their revenue to increase in the next 12 months. For the next quarter,
40 percent of operators indicated they had more sales/work in the
pipeline for the June to August period.

SMEs indicated continued confidence and optimism going into the new
2018-19 financial year. 33% of Australian small and medium business
operators expected the Australian economy to improve over the next 12
months, showing continued improvement since May 2017 when only 25% of
Australian operators expected to see an improvement. Overall,
satisfaction levels with the Federal Government are also up from 27%
to 33% since May 2017.

Among the sectors, the manufacturing and wholesale industry are most
likely to expect the 2 economy to improve in the next 12 months (46%),
and the the construction and trades industry are least confident in
predicting continued economic improvements (24 %).

MYOB CEO Tim Reed said the results show the SME community is
continuing to walk-thewalk.

“By putting people first and investing in human resources, SMEs are
showing their confidence in the economy and their commitment to
building better businesses. Investing in skilled workers is the means
through which they will create future innovation and gain a
competitive edge” he said.

The great tech divide: Regional Australia lags behind

There are still significant barriers for businesses in regional
Australia. The research shows that rural businesses are amongst the
most likely to be technology laggards. Up to 60 percent of regional
small business owners are operating without any online presence
whatsoever, a statistic that is significantly higher than the
nationwide figure (34%). Only 11 percent of regional SMEs surveyed
have both a business website and a social media account for their business.

By sector, the industry most likely to be based in regional
Australia again lagged behind in technological adoption, with up to 64
percent of agribusinesses operating without an online presence.
Geographically remote Western Australia-based operators were also
significantly more likely to be late adopters of technology (50%
without an online presence).

Educational programs aimed at improving digital literacy are
important for Australia’s economic prosperity.

“We absolutely encourage SMEs to continue to use digital tools for
their business. Creating an online presence and using it to interact
with and service customers is a simple, necessary step to helping your
business succeed.”

“Digital literacy programs that are inclusive of Australia’s
geographically isolated SME operators will be important for removing
barriers to business growth and success in the regions,” Mr Reed said.

“It is the responsibility of the government and leading corporate
technology providers to do as much as they can to encourage upskilling
and digital adoption across the small business community, no matter
where you live.”

End of financial year chaos

With the end of financial year fast approaching, the survey revealed
that over one third of SME operators (37%) had been working weekends
to ensure they are on track for tax time. A further 21 percent had
been working past midnight to meet their EOFY obligations.

When asked when they started work on their end of financial year
reporting, respondents reported starting this important task anywhere
from more than a month prior (26%) to more than two months after (9%),
with 55% starting before the EOFY and 38% starting after.

Preparation is the key to a panic-free tax time for operators of
growing SMEs, with businesses whose revenue had increased in the
previous 12 months more likely to start their EOFY preparations before
the end of the financial year (63%).

While one-third of operators were planning to meet their EOFY
obligations themselves (32%, down from 41% the same time last year), a
larger proportion of operators will be enlisting the expertise of an
accountant (62%) or bookkeeper (23%).

The MYOB Business Monitor is a national survey of 1,000+ Australian
small and medium business owners and managers, from sole traders to
mid-sized companies, representing the major industry sectors. The
Business Monitor researches business performance and attitudes in
areas such as profitability, cash flow, pipeline, technology usage and
the government. It has run since 2009, commissioned to independent
market research firm Colmar Brunton. This most recent survey ran in
April/May 2018. The businesses participating in the online survey were
both non-employing and employing businesses. All data has been
weighted by industry type, location and number of employees, which are
in line with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS - Counts of
Australian businesses, including entries & exits - 8165.0).